Plenty of positives for Andrews

11 November 2015

mkdons.com

Keith Andrews was happy with a number of aspects of his side’s showing in the 3-2 Final Third Development Cup win over Luton Town.

The first-team coach, who takes the team for these fixtures, picked out the attitude, the performance of a young defence and quality of goals as plus points in the entertaining behind-closed-doors success at stadiummk.

He told mkdons.com: “First half there was some good and some not so good but I thought the attitude was spot on.

“Luton shaded the first half but the back four, very young and inexperienced, kept at it and stayed compact. There were parts of the game we worked on in training to try and simplify things – they took that on board and were fantastic.

“I thought Adam Hunt, in particular, was great and that’s the best I’ve seen him play. He’s a bit of a jack of all trades having played in a few positions but I thought he led and organised, alongside Harry.

“The full-backs (Callum Brittain and Peter Kioso) aren’t orthodox full-backs – Callum is playing as a winger but I think he will end up in defence, that’s my preference for him anyway. He’s coming out in himself more and more every week. It’s good to get them playing with the senior chaps.”

Andrews’ men came out flying after the break and goals from Tom Hitchcock, Rob Hall and Kabongo Tshimanga saw them deservedly take a 3-0 lead.

He said: “Second half, we tweaked a few things and the intensity levels went through the roof. We caused them a lot of problems and some of the football we played for 25-30 minutes was sensational. We merited our three-goal lead.

“They were top, top goals. The first one wasn’t something we particularly worked on because I didn’t think we would test them from set-pieces, instead play sharp football and try to play quickly. Hally’s delivery was top drawer and, if Tom Hitchcock gets in those positions, he’s a proven goalscorer and finished it very well.

“The second goal was probably the pick of the bunch – Hally cuts inside and the way he strikes that ball is as pure as it’s going to get. The last one is Kabby – it was a great little ball by Hitchy and, again, if Kabby gets in those positions, he can score goals. Kabby’s started to evolve his game a bit and become more well-rounded. He’s got a long way to go but I think he’s got something to offer the Football Club.”

The 34-year-old concluded: “These games are about the development of players and senior boys getting minutes, but when you lose 6-1, like we did last time out, it does become more about results because that performance good enough.

“It’s not about the result but I always think the result usually coincides with the performance, which was quite good.”